We first started dancing with Arthur Murray more than a year before we got engaged, just as a fun activity to do together as a couple. By the time we were engaged, we knew that we ...wanted to work with the staff at Arthur Murray on our wedding dance!
Everyone there is very fun and supportive. During the time that we danced with Arthur Murray, we worked with almost all of the staff, and each of them had their own style and points of emphasis, which really helped us (and especially me) improve.
As our wedding day approached, we worked with Frank and Nikko to craft a medley of dances so we could show off a few of the different dance styles that we had learned. Our guests loved it, and we had so much fun getting the dancing started at our wedding.
We went to another wedding recently (the first since our own), and I can say that I was one of the best dancers there, which is something I would never have expected myself to be able to say.
A few pieces of dancing advice:
- Get started early - They would have been happy to help had we shown up a few weeks before our wedding, but taking more time allowed us to really feel comfortable not only with our first dance, but to be able to improvise all night long. At the same time, don't worry if you can't commit a lot of time to dancing. Even a few lessons will put you miles ahead of the average dancer.
- Buy dancing shoes - It took us a while to try them, but dancing shoes can really help you move across the floor.
- Switch partners - Don't just dance with your significant other. When you go to group classes, there are opportunities to switch partners and dance with the other couples. It's a good way to see how you can improve and learn how to communicate better with your partner when you're back together.